Wall structure and fastener



Patented Jan. 25, 1944 3,339,841 WALrl STRUCTURE AND FASTENER Philip G. Deuchler and William A. Moore, Buffalo, N. Y., assignors to Certain-Teed Products Corporation, New York; N. Y., a corporation of Maryland f Application october 7, 1941, serial No. natie e'caiis. (01.724418) This invention relates to constructions utilizing covering materials in sheet form'erected upon a' supporting structure and to Vdevices for fastening such sheet lcovering materialsto the support'.

Covering' materials; such as panels or wallboards, commonly are erected' upon a supporting structure, usually in the form of a frame'co'nsisting ofspaced supports, bydriving nails or lar fasteners through the' panelsA to engageY the support behind the panel. In many cases 'such fasteners, driven through the panels along' the edges where' two panels meet upon a supportare covered by acovering strip or other means'used to cover the joint formed between saidedges. Where, however, panels of relatively"great widthl spanningl across spaced supportsare used,vtis necessary tofasten the panel'in itsvcentral portios to the intermediatev supports. Nailsorusimilar fasteners'n driven tl'irough the facesh of the panel at these supports thengbecome conspicuous and require toY be covered with cemrevnt-orother means of hiding the'nail heads which will conform to the surface of. the panel andrso that the panel may reeivealinishing material such vas paint.

Heretoforedvices have been Yproposed for 'fas-Tk tening such panels to supports Withouthaving thefastener pass throughthe material of the panel Iingorczlgr tojavoid the voperations oflhiding and at thejasteners. v.In some. `of these` deviesprngs are arrangedupon thedevic'e up standing therefromrinsuch a way as to enterjthe rear face of; the panel andfholdpit'to the sup-, p ort. Ing-order to obtainjsecure fastening by such devices usually the prongs'have rbeen so formed.- that Ythey may bendsomewhat, as.4 the pressurev is put, upon the fronti face `of fthe panel to'force. as' toilock` the prongs'to enter at the rear face, so

intogthe materialvof the panel".

`In some devices as heretofore proposed,

order to secure the device to the support, a fastener such as a nail has been driven through an openingftherein to securely hold the fastener to the-support before application of the panel. In

such ',constructions, however, noV provision `is made; for. movement of .the supports' relative .-to.

thepanel orrof the panelirelativeto the supports and in many cases buckling or breakage of. the panelA or pulling thereof away from the devicelhas occurredfnv order to obviate this difficulty, in someLdeVCs of the priorart it has been proposed. that a platevha ving a.relativelylargeextent shally be fastened tothe support,l such as a, stud,'.by

means of ,nailsi driven therethrough'Y andzwith a? smaller.,` partlcarrying; the gripping, or Nclutching Y.

prongs arranged for movement relative to the plate#In suchdevices the fastening to the supportsf'orfstud's'is strong but the fastening to the rearfac of the panell is much weaker than the fastening to the `stud because a sufficient number of prongs 'having sufiicient spacing therebetween could ntj-be provided'u'pon lthe small' part referred toijj'llie gripuponV the panel is insuicient in-lmanycas'es effectively to hold the panel under s'trains'due to'` expansionand contraction caused J es peoiallyjlby temperature and humidity changes or yjsettlement and warping of the supporting structurer a i a f ijlt isanfobject ,off the invention to y' overcome the'diiiculties ofthe prior art devices Iand to provide*adevicefinfwhich thefastening to the stud will'be*suicientlyvfstrofigto vhold the panel construction Yat all' 'placesof fastening. The grip by means of the prongs `entering the rear face of the panel, however," will be accomplished With a large number of prongs positioned in spaced relation over a substantial area'to securely hold the panel to; the;deviceifjlnfaddition, 'the device is so constructed that the portion' which grips the panel is movablejsubstantialwstances 'in thel direction parallelto'th aceio'fthefpanel relative tothe portionWhichjisastened 'to the support. This allowan'ceforjrelat "m'ienient of the two parts of the"devi'e` e h Whichae firmly fastened e A ,artsief'th structure, namely, thepanelj'and thesuppdl, provides' for movement to, theQre'spective off the: twg jparts produced bythe various causes above mentioned jto"rel ive straing 1t l feature'oftineuevice'that a pme of substanti'al extent carries 'the prongs Vand has means thereon for slidably engaging a bridle piece which is fastened' firmly to the support, such as the stud. A,'Ihesplate has an aperture Vcentrally thereof, which" permits a substantial amount of move-v ment ofl the plate relativeuto the bridle piece and This movement is possible in all its fastener.

directionsfthefspace provided by the aperture e'iten'dirigi all about the Vfastener andsuch portions`of thelbridie piece as may pass through the aperture tolbearhupon thestud. The bridle piece iso' such proportions as to have the portions thereof which are outwardly positioned from the center verlapupgn the face of ,the` plate. These outwardly positioned portions -ofthe bridle piece,

lare offset uwith*respect yto the central portion thereof morder that this, central portion passing through the aperturemay firmly engage the stud 'without causing .the outward portions to bindv upon Jthefae-of the. plate. "Th'usthe plate may wmovexel'ative tothe.,` bridle piece andits fastener standing from thefface of the plateenter the rear face of the panel when the panel is -pressed'there-v against. After the device has been fastened to the support a slight bending of the prongs may occur or be secured by proper pressure or by striking the face of the panel withsurtable means.

The invention will be further,` understood from' the description to follow ofthe drawing; in

which i Fig. 1 shows an isometric view of the plate and bridle piece assembled and fastened toastud.

Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal section on line 2--2 Y of Fig. 1.

I In Fig. 1 the plate I is shown ofrectangular form having upstanding from the .facethereof the prongs 3, 4 and 5 of generally triangular shape and curved relative to the direction normal to the plate. Theprongs 3 are ,faced in the opposite direction from the prongs 4 and` 5. fIt will be noted that the prongs 4 and Erelative to each other are spaced apart substantial'distances'ancl are adjacent the corners of the rectangle so that the points of grip of the Wallboard are separatedl from each other thev better to hold the board to the plate. This feature, Withthe assistance of,

In the embodimentillustrated, located .substantially on the center line of the plate parallel to the rows 'of prongs 3', 4 and 5' is a bar` or bridle piece I of generally fiatform with the portions 8' of thisbridle Vpiece which' are outwardly located.v from the' center ofits' length lapped upon the` face ofI the platejI from Which the Yprongs 3, 4` and upstand. The'piec'e 1 has a central'portion 9- which maybe formedby a suitable diefstamp'- ing or other operation as'a boss.

therefore to the Vface of the plate. The face I i is offset such an amount that it will bearup'on the surface of a support, such as 'stud 'I 3"illus' trated in Fig, 1.

Through a hole -I5- centrally of' the bol-ss 9 'a r nail l I may be driven with its head `inthe counter-l' sunk portion-of the bridle piece 1.. This'naijl may bedriven into theface of the stud I3 when a'wocd .stud is used as incommon framewonstruction.'

If desired, however, with other typesof'st'udsor supports a different form of the-fastener' II may be inserted through the-hole I5"'to bridle piece 'I to the support. v

The offset of the boss 9 may be such* that'although the outwardportions B-'of the piece 'rmay be in overlapping Contact'witl'rthe` facejo'fv the plate I they do not so tightly bear against this face, when the face. II ofthel boss 9 is in firm Y Thfefface BT of the boss 9 on that 'side oi the bridle pieceY which bearsuponthe plate I ispreferablygen? erally parallel to theface -of the bridle piece andl secure the ably determining the offset of the boss 9 in consideration of the thickness of the plate I. It is a feature of the invention that provision is made for this sliding relation between the plate I secured to the back face of the panel and the bridle piece 1 firmly secured to the support.

`Inorder to provide for the requisite amount of movement-of the plate I relative to the bridle piece, the plate is formed with a central aperture 20. The dimensions of this central aperture are such that a substantial amount of clearance is provided around the boss 9 in all directions.

contact with the stud I3, that theplate I is held s Thus, whenthe bridle piece 1 is securely fastened to the stud` or support, the plate I may be moved laterally as shown in Fig. 1 until the sides 22 and 23 of the aperture come in contact with the boss 9..` Correspondingly the plate I may be 'm'oved i'n the direction parallel to the rows of prongs 3, 4 and 5 until the edges 24 and 25 come in contact with the boss 9. Combinations of the movements in' these directions may occur. The length of -the bridle piece lTis such that itsy end portions 8 remain lapped upon the platel when the plate hasmoved to the full extent,.bringing the boss Qint'o contact' with either edge 24 or 25.

In order to keep the bridle I in' position with its' length generallyA` in the direction parallel'to the rows of prongs 3, 4*'and' Sand to avoid'jammingv and other dislocation lwhich might" be' caused byk stress put 'uponthe device because of expansion or contractionof the wallboa'rds or because ofthe movementof the supporting'str'uc'- ture; bridge' pieces 21'areformed in the plate I bridging-over the end portionsv of the bridle T. These bridge pieces may be formed'by'me'ansof dies at the time ofv forming the aperture 2'0 and the prongs 3, 4 and 5.

2fextend transversely' of the directionl of the piece 'I acrossthe end portions ofthe aperture`2ll'.

The'longitudinal portions of these-bridge pieces i In viewsof the length ofthe bridle `in relation` tothe flengthof the aperture 20 and the' length of.l the spanof the bridge'pieces 2'I the -bridlel cannotmove from under' the bridge pieces when the-bridle piece has been fastenedtofthe support'. Thus, thereisprovided means for keepingthel plate in itsintended relation toI the stud and r preferably bearing against the face thereof'with-f out undue friction which would` prevent movement'betweenrthe stud andthe. plate.' The aperture 20' in theplate. I, however.; is not-irnade' so large that rigidity of the plate forbearingl against and holdingthe panel to. theV stud or supportIT is lost; Itthereforeis possible to force'the prongs into thexback'face of. the panels, after-the-de'vice has been fastened to. the L,stud or supportinthe'- manner above described-1. with full. bearing upon 1the face of lthestud orfsupport toback up the pressure lwhich it is necessary to. placeluponfthe front face lof the board .to force. the .prongs-"into its back face.'l

-A further advantage Aof the'device is that/it maypbeassembled in the shop with. the bridle piece 'Il inserted beneath.A the bridge` piecesi 212 ready forapplication tothe studszor` supports. Application then may be accomplished; byl the workmansimply. by holding the: device against theffacezof the-stud? at the properfplacetlner'eolir` The bridge pieces'in theparticular embodiment illustrated in'Figs. 1 and and driving the nail through fthe hole I5. -.The clearance between the bridle 'land thezface of the plate l and between the bridle 'I andthe bridge pieces 21 may be such that a slight amount of friction may be present after the bridle 1 has been securely fastened to the stud or support. This will make it possible forY the plate l to be moved by hand into its proper'relation to the bridle piece, for example into symmetrical relation thereto, so that the panels or boards may be placed against the supporting structure and the prongs immediately forced into the rear faces of the panels by pressure upon the outer face of the panel. The slight friction will hold the weight of the plate to prevent its'movement out of theV desired'initial placement. This may be accomplished withoutinterfering with movement of the panels relative to the supports in any direction under stress brought thereon, there being adequate space around the boss 9 in any direction for such movement when the boss is thus initially centrally located in the aperture 20.

While variation may be made in the dimensions and form of the plate and of the bridle piece and of the bridge pieces for holding the bridle in proper relation to the plate, the invention includes any device which has a member free of direct fastening to a support but carrying means for firmly gripping a panel at its rear face at relatively widely spaced points upon the member, which member is held in place upon the support by another member but providing movement relative to the rst member generally parallel to the wall face, this other member being firmly secured to the supporting structure. It is important, however, that the other member, that is, the bridle 1 shall be sufficiently strong and stiff` to hold the device and the panels or wallboards gripped thereby to the supports in proper alignment with the face of the wall while permitting the relative movement betweenthe panels and the support. By providing the prongs at sufcient spacings upon the plate, which itself bears against the support, such alignment and secure hold is obtained. The bridle piece 1 may be made of suicient thickness in consideration of its width and length and having regard to the thickness of the bridge pieces to accomplish firm holding of the device and the boards to the support and without unduly spacing the boards from the supports because of the intervening material of the device.

In a practical example, such as is illustrated in the drawing, the thickness of the plate may be of .025 to .035. be provided for the bridle piece. The space between the face of the plate I and the under face of the bridge pieces 21 may be such as to provide a clearance of .002 to .003 for the bridle piece 1. 'Ihis clearance may be secured between the under face of the bridle l and the face of the plate by providing an offset for the face Il of the boss 9 of .002 to .003" greater than the thickness of the plate l. In such a practical embodiment the length of the plate l parallel to the length of the bridle 1 may be 2.1/2 inches for a device to be used on wood studs. The width of the plate l in consideration of the desired spacing between the rows of prongs 3, 4 and 5 and of the usual width of wood studs may be 2%". With a bridle 'l of about in width the boss S may be about 1/4" in diameter. The width of the aperture 20 may be of the degree of to S", the length of the aperture 20 being about 1" to 1%. These dimensions are merely typical The same thickness may andare not intended toflimit the invention, the features of which have been set out above.

Having thus described my invention, I now claim:

`1. .A device for fastening. a panel to a support behind the panel which comprises a flat plate ture said flat strip upon the face thereof which is in lapping contact with said plate having a central boss extending through said aperture suiliciently beyond the rear face of said plate to engage said support and provide clearance for said plate between said lapping portions of said strip and said support, the spacing of said bridge pieces from said face of the plate being insuiiicient to permit withdrawal of said flat strip and its boss therethrough but suicient to provide for sliding movement of the plate and strip relative to each other, the width of the strip being less than the length of the bridge pieces to provide for lateral movement of said strip, the length of said strip being sufficient to maintain lapping engagement with said face of the plate when the central boss of said strip is adjacent one of said opposite edges of the rectangular aperture.

2. A device for fastening a panel to a support positioned behind the panel which comprises a bridle piece formed with a central portion having an opening therein for a fastener to pass therethrough to hold said central portion in firm engagement with said support, said bridle piece also being formed with portions thereof extending oppositely outwardly from Said central portion and offset with respect thereto, a plate having an aperture centrally thereof and provided with a plurality of prongs upstanding from a face thereof positioned about said central aperture, said bridle piece being arranged with said outwardly extending portions thereof lapping upon said face of said plate and its central portion extending throughsaid aperture, the dimensions of said aperture with respect to said central portion of said bridle piece being such as to provide for substantial sliding movement of said plate with respect to said bridle piece while maintaining said lapping relation, said oiset of said outwardly extending portions of said bridle piece being sufcient to provide clearance between said outwardly extending portions and said plate when said central portion of said bridle piece is in firm engagement with said support, said plate being provided with bridge pieces extending across said outwardly extending portions of said bridle piece and spaced from said face of said plate sufficiently to provide clearance between said bridge pieces and said bridle piece to provide for said sliding movement of said plate relative to said bridle piece but insuicient to provide space for said central portion of said bridle piece to pass through said clearance space, whereby said bridge piece is retained in operable relation to said plate before as well as after erection.

3. A construction for supporting a wall panel in a wall comprising a stud (or beam) having a face parallel to the face of the wall, a plate having an aperture centrally thereof and'having one face thereof-in contact with said face of the stud .and having upstanding from 'its opposite face prongs positioned about said aperture for engagement with the rear face of the `panel placed thereagainst, a bridle .piece spanning across said aperture with opposite portions thereof lapping upon Said opposite face of 'the plate and having a lcentral portion extending through said aperture'into contact with said vface of the stud, said lapping portions of said bridle piece being offset with respect to said central portion so as to provide clearance between said lapping portions and said plate for sliding movement of one in relation tothe other, the dimensions in the directions parallel to 'the face of the plate of .said central portion of the bridle piece and of said aperture in relationato each other .being sucl as to provide substantial relative sliding movement of said plate and said ybridle piece, a fastener passing through fan fopening insaid `central portion oisaid :bridle piece into engagement with said stud to hold said central portion of Asaid bridle piece vin firmengagement with said face of the stud, said plate Ibeing provided wi-th bridge pieces extending over said lapping portions'of said bridle piece and spaced from said face of said plate from whichsaid prongs upstand sufliciently to provide `forsaid yrelative sliding movement of said bridle and said plate but :insufficient to permit withdrawal of said bridle piece and its ycentral porz15 tion between a bridge piece vand said plate. 

